I'm always amused that the findings of accomplishments of our ancestors always seems to be a surprise.

While they lacked many of the things that we enjoy they were certainly able to use their brains to observe natural things around them and pass the information around. I can't imagine they would waste such an obvious food source without at least trying to make something of it?

Many Europeans are somewhat surprised at North Americans adults milk consumption. One Belgian that used to join us for lunch at the "mess hall" would always ask me why I drank milk, I told him that it was because it always seemed to fascinate him. }};-D

Scientists have found the first clear evidence that humans made cheese more than 7,000 years ago in prehistoric Europe.

An international team of researchers, led by the University of Bristol in the U.K., analyzed fatty acids extracted from unglazed pottery found at archeological sites in Poland, and determined the vessels were used for dairy products.

"The presence of milk residues in sieves, which look like modern cheese-strainers, constitutes the earliest direct evidence for cheese-making," said Melanie Salque, a PhD student from the University of Bristol, in a statement.

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But testing conducted by researchers at the University of Bristol, Princeton University, and scientists in Lodz, Gdansk and Poznan in Poland showed that their hunches were correct, Salque said.

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"As well as showing that humans were making cheese 7,000 years ago, these results provide evidence of the consumption of low-lactose content milk products in Prehistory," said Peter Bogucki, one of the study's co-authors.

"Making cheese allowed them to reduce the lactose content of milk, and we know that at that time, most of the humans were not tolerant to lactose. Making cheese is a particularly efficient way to exploit the nutritional benefits of milk, without becoming ill because of the lactose."